The present invention relates generally to electronic messaging. More specifically, the present invention relates to assigning a virtual address to and messaging to multiple text-capable destination entities.
Known systems have been disclosed that allow a subscriber to have a single personal telephone directory number. As a telephone call is sent to such a subscriber, the telephone call can be routed to the present or last known location of the subscriber. Such systems determine this present or last known location of the subscriber in various ways.
For example, some of these known systems determine a subscriber's location through the use of a radio transmitter physically carried on the subscriber's person. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,315,636 to Patel discloses a system where the subscriber physically carries a wireless personal communicator on their person. A number of radio base stations can determine the location of the subscriber through communications with the personal communicator. In another example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,125,176 to Foladare et al. discloses a system where the location of a subscriber is determined based on the status of general purpose electronic devices (e.g., television, oven and/or computer) within the subscribers home.
Other known systems are based on call forwarding techniques where a calling party dials one telephone number and the call can be then forwarded to another telephone number. U.S. Pat. No. 4,313,035 to Jordan et al., discloses a personal locator number uniquely assigned to a subscriber. The personal locator number is unique to the subscriber nationwide and is used in conjunction with a service code, e.g., “700”. The subscriber dials “0” followed by “700” and the personal locator number from any telephone. From this telephone, the subscriber can provide the number of that telephone so that subsequent telephone calls from a calling party can be forwarded to the subscriber at that telephone number.
These known systems, however, suffer several shortcomings. First, these known systems are limited to telephone calls having audio content, but do not consider other types of content. In addition to different types of content, these devices do not consider different types of devices and the different capabilities of those devices. In other words, all calls are treated identically regardless of the destination devices and their capabilities.
Second, these known systems are limited in how the communication devices of the subscriber can be configured with a common telephone number. On the one hand, some of these known systems allow incoming telephone calls to be routed among multiple communication devices of a subscriber based on devices that are physically located on the subscriber's premises or person. On the other hand, other known systems allow the telephone call to be received at a location remote from the subscriber's premises where the subscriber remotely dials in to set call-forwarding parameters. In sum, these known systems fail to associate a telephone number remote from the subscriber's premises that can still be associated with the communication devices of a subscriber.